Africa Industries

Botswana Puts Rail, Water and a P25.5 Billion Airport City at the Centre of Its Industrial Push

President Boko said contractors for the Trans Kalahari Railway and the Chobe-Zambezi water scheme will be procured in 2027/28, as solar additions cut power imports by 62%.

By Tumisang Bogwasi November 9, 2026 2 min read

Photo: Iulus Ascanius / Wikimedia Commons (public domain) (file)

GABORONE – Botswana will start procuring contractors for the long-delayed Trans Kalahari Railway and the Chobe-Zambezi Water Transfer Scheme in the 2027/28 financial year. President Duma Boko made the announcement in his State of the Nation Address on 8 November, presenting infrastructure as the base for industrialisation beyond diamonds.

Highlights

Rail and water contractors are to be procured in 2027/28.
P25.5 billion Airport City construction has begun, Boko said.
200MW of new solar added through Mmadinare and Jwaneng plants.
Electricity imports fell 62% to 187 gigawatt-hours.

Rail and water

“Following successful conclusion of both Bankable Feasibility Studies, procurement of contractors for both projects will happen during the 2027/2028 financial year,” Boko said, according to the government’s Daily News. The railway, delayed for more than a decade, would link Botswana’s coal, copper and iron ore deposits to Namibia’s Walvis Bay.

Namibia’s works ministry has said the preferred 1,850-kilometre corridor is technically feasible and would be run as a public-private partnership concession, but no construction date has been set. Railways Africa put the price tag at about $8 billion.

The water scheme is being redesigned to integrate the Zambezi Agro-Commercial Development Project in Pandamatenga to support food security.

Industrial land and Airport City

Some 82 serviced plots at Sir Seretse Khama International Airport have been transferred to the Special Economic Zones Authority, and the first investor lease has been signed. Four factory shells are due for occupation by April 2027.

The P25.5 billion New Airport City, a partnership between Botswana Development Corporation and ALBADDAD Holding, is anchored by a 124,000-square-metre exhibition and convention centre. BDC’s land contribution of about P198 million secures it a 5% golden share.

Power and roads

Boko said electricity imports fell to 187 gigawatt-hours from 492 a year earlier. He credited 200MW of new solar capacity and improved reliability at Morupule B. The government has approved P772.4 million to maintain six sections of the A1 highway.

What to watch

The plans depend on financing. Fuel and road levies have been suspended for six months and revenue is under pressure. Investors will look for firm PPP structures and funding commitments before the 2027/28 tenders.